2019 COMMENDATION
BUSINESS:
ODD Games Pty Ltd
PRODUCT:
'Monster Truck Destruction' video game
AWARD CATEGORY:
Product Design
INDUSTRY SECTOR:
Digital - Games & Visual Effects
DESIGN:
Terry O'Donoghue and David O'Donoghue
EXPORTING to:
133 Countries
1: BRIEF DESCRIPTION:
The 'Monster Truck Destruction' video game is a mobile only video game featuring 60+ licensed monster trucks spanning multiple generations. It was created to fill a niche in the market as sub-optimal products were being produced. The game features drag and freestyle game modes based off of live events.
2: DESIGN CHALLENGE:
In order to make our game stand out and fill the niche we had to develop a realistic damage system. We had to design a physics driven damage deformation system that would look realistic and function real time on all mobile devices. Mobile devices don't have the same processing power or graphics power as PC's or consoles. Not only did the mobile devices have to power this physics system but they also had to power 3D environments and assets in real time. At the time no game developer had done this, at a time when there were hundreds of thousands of mobile games available.
3: DESIGN SOLUTION:
Being avid fans of monster trucks, we knew how the trucks behaved in real world environments, what we had to do was to replicate this on a mobile device. There was no off the shelf code available so we had to custom create our own system. We were embarking on creating the world's first damage system for video games on mobile devices. Through the idealisation phase we identified that we needed to consider direction, mass, trajectory and force (speed) as part of the physics system. We then created a 3D monster truck model in a 3D environment and began testing, over and over, observing the visual impacts and refactoring over and over to get it right.
4: DESIGN IMPACT:
'Monster Truck Destruction' has been downloaded over 30,000,000 times generating over 350,000,000 sessions which equates to just over 10,000 years of continuous engagement. Our feedback score averages are at least a 4 out of 5 on both Google Play and Apple Appstore. This title reached #1 in the racing genre in just over 100 countries. It still ranks in the top 100 titles in the racing genre on both stores. Monster Truck Destruction has given all independent monster truck owners, irrespective of the generation they competed in, a platform to showcase their trucks on a digital global stage.
5: OTHER KEY FEATURES:
We launched the worlds first physics driven damage deformation system in mobile games. All of the revenue we generate is Export Revenue. The success of Monster Truck Destruction has enabled us to move out of a garage with rugs over roller doors to keep the heat and cold in/out and into a studio, to purchase fit for use equipment (we had an old laptop shrink wrapped to a portable air conditioner to stop it from overheating as it would overheat every 15 minutes) and to employ passionate programmers/artists who share our vision to be a team of 10 currently. Our title outperformed the Monster Jam (biggest monster truck brand) mobile video game by a factor of 10:1. Recognised as a Top Developer by Google.